#0791 · 🐦 birds

Cackling Goose

🇳🇱 Kleine Canadese Gans ·Branta hutchinsii

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in the Netherlands (introduced)

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The cackling goose ( Branta hutchinsii ) is a North American bird of the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species.

base stats

NL sightings 27iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 17,128iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 27 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
17,128 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by John Richardson in 1832 (194 years ago).
Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.

fact sheet

English: Cackling Goose
Nederlands: Kleine Canadese Gans
scientific name: Branta hutchinsii
class: Aves
order: Anseriformes
family: Anatidae
IUCN Red List: LC · least concern
in NL: introduced
sightings in NL: 27
sightings in Europe: 132
sightings worldwide: 17,128
GBIF records in NL: 1,808
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1832 by John Richardson

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Anatidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 59220, Wikidata Q244189, GBIF 5232452, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.